


She'll make you shine and sparkle new

by GreyscaleSky



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 01:41:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16903704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreyscaleSky/pseuds/GreyscaleSky
Summary: Until she finds the real you underneath.





	She'll make you shine and sparkle new

Frisk was not her first child, she could admit to that, but with Frisk she felt as though she'd learnt more from her third child, a surprising amount even. For one, human hair grew much faster than monster fur, two, Toriel was not meant to be a hairdresser, three, real hairdressers were strangely mesmerising to watch, the way they ran their fingers and combs through hair was a delight for the goat.  
Another thing she'd learnt was that Frisk had some anxiety, the poor thing was barely seven and instead of revelling in the sun and crowds they would cower in her arms, luckily Toriel found that holding their hand and rubbing them would calm them and keep them smiling, and how she loved that smile.  
She never expected that her adopted human child would bring with them a host of new friends and, by extension, monsters she considered family, children even.  
Sans she knew very well, originally just as a deep voice behind a door, she'd actually imagined him very close to how he really looked, quite short, tired but caring eyes and a cheesy grin. He was just as funny in person, even if he had the tendency to repeat his jokes. Something she'd noticed was that Sans got a wistful look in his eyes when he looked at her, the exact same look he got when he looked at his brother, not to mention how he'd sit up straight when she was around, he'd tuck his shirt in and tone down his slightly foul and raunchy language. Toriel caught on quickly when he told her about his father.  
Sans saw her as a maternal figure, one he'd never had before. She hadn't wanted to assume something like that but then one day he'd slipped his tongue and called her "mom" quite endearingly, glassy eyelights and shiny white teeth. She'd never been more touched before. When she picked up the little skeleton and held him against her chest he cried and sniffled in time with her soul beat.  
Papyrus was in the same boat as his brother, except he was quite honest with his feelings and was quite happy to call her "mom" when she offered, there was no awkwardness on his part, just a very genuine smile and a surprisingly soft hug and thank you. She made sure to give them both a kiss on the cheek whenever she saw them, because it made them so joyous.  
Napstablook was a very sweet ghost, but so pitifully shy and sad that Toriel was just itching to hold the poor dear, and even though she physically couldn't, the ghost assured her that the attempts were more than enough. The next day he began offering to play his music to her, and even though she definitely didn't understand electronic music and much preferred a piano she still hummed along as best she could and promised that one day she'd learn how to make a ghost cinnamon-butterscotch pie.  
Mettaton wasn't the oddest of the bunch, there was no "oddest" really, but it was still...strange to her how she'd managed to befriend such an icon, he was so popular on the surface yet the robot still had a lot of time for his friends, he reserved them all seats for his plays and movies and performances, treated them to dinners and drinks and shopping sprees, and most importantly he made them just as popular with the constant photos on his Instagram, he didn't seem to want a mother, rather just a friend, someone he could hold yarn for while she knitted him a sweater that they both knew didn't provide anything for him, but made him feel warm in a different way.  
Undyne she knew also lacked a motherly figure in her life, but she also knew Gerson had raised the little hellion of a fish into the incredible monster she was today, and so she'd attempted to back off, she respected Gerson greatly and didn't want to ever make him or Undyne feel like she needed a mother figure, because she didn't. Toriel didn't have a mother figure growing up and she'd grown up to be one. When Undyne had proudly called her Mrs. Mom it was a sweet compliment, and she gladly pinched the fish woman's cheeks just like her father had, and she was gifted with that infectious grin.  
Toriel had known the previous Royal Scientist, and from what she'd remembered she realised that both of them were so wonderfully odd. She rather liked the word "odd" because it seemed that most of the books she'd read used it in a mean spirited way, yet to be odd was never a bad thing, because such a thing was subjective. Sans looked odd, Papyrus cooked odd, Frisk's unwavering kindness was odd, but they weren't bad, and neither was Alphys. While Toriel had been the one to fire her she never once thought poorly of the doctor, she'd worked so hard and so tirelessly, she was just so afraid and Toriel would never wish fear on any monster, especially not one so bright and beautiful, so she held Alphys close, no different than to how she'd held Sans, and let the poor girl cry.  
A bartender was the last person she'd expect to already know, but as soon as she'd heard he was a veteran fire elemental (a beautiful one, according to Sans) she'd lit up, pun intended. She remembered General Grillby as a kind, loving listener and he hadn't changed a bit. Or perhaps he had, while he hadn't grown quite as cynical as Sans he was certainly dimmer than he had been, still sweet and loyal but there was an obvious sad inflection to his hushed voice, when they met up again she rushed to pile the gangly monster into her arms, when he stood frozen and shaking she instantly pulled away only for him to hug her tightly, in a smokey, croaked voice he begged her not to let go, "just a few more seconds" he begged. A 'few' clearly meant sixty, but that was okay. She wanted to pinch his cheeks but settled on taking one of his hands and swinging it back and forth, while Sans took the other, tracing very tiny hearts over it, if Grillby noticed he didn't say anything, just smiled away with a jagged mouth he'd previously labelled as "disgusting". It certainly was beautiful.  
  
One day Frisk had gone to visit Sans and Papyrus, Toriel assumed they either wouldn't go anywhere or Papyrus would force them to go somewhere on a hike, he enjoyed hikes through the forest after all. While Sans had always made sure to bring Frisk home by six for supper, a bath, a toothbrushing, a bedtime story and a goodnight kiss, once he'd brought them back much later, as she scolded the short skeleton her child came into view, caked in dirt and carrying a flower pot with a single golden flower in it. A talking golden flower. A talking golden flower named Flowey, who'd once attempted to murder the little child.  
She'd stared down the flower with an intensity only matched by her fire magic, while the flower seemed to sweat under her gaze.  
And then Frisk had explained that he was a good guy now, that he was really nice and just wanted a friend. The flower audibly scoffed.  
Yet Frisk was right. Beneath all the cynical, mean comments the soulless flower made, he had moments where he'd cry or get angry and upset without Frisk there, and Toriel would take the little pot and sit it in her lap while she stroked his petals. He'd never admit to liking it, but Toriel saw the smile on his face and the tears in his eyes. Perhaps he wasn't all bad.  
She could admit to being wrong, she was, after all, just a silly lady who worried too much, so after a long while of listening to Flowey make an odd purring noise in her lap she began to think about others that seemed mean.  
ASGORE, for example.  
She'd loved Asgore so deeply and truly. She'd spent so many years in the RUINS waking up and missing his scent. Missing detangling his fur and watching him scarf down a pie like it was the first meal he'd ever had every time.  
Of course it had been Frisk to bring them back together, because it was always Frisk, the child seemed to be a magnet for friends, so they'd asked Toriel if they could have a "friend" over one day. A big, fuzzy, bearded friend who liked flowers and had promised to make their garden look beautiful. ("As beautiful as their mother", Asgore had said, with a shiny look in his eyes.) Toriel begrudgingly agreed to let him work out in the yard and play with Frisk and Flowey, but as the day went on she'd gone out of her way to make lemonade and bake a pie. She even quite forcefully sat the giant monster down when he'd awkwardly tried to leave. She pointedly ignored his watering eyes as he ate his slice, but still smiled when he asked if he could take a piece home. He left with a bag with a smile drawn on it and a thank you.

She came home one day from work, a teacher's meeting day, with a smile on her face and a song humming away as usual, when she clicked her key in the lock and stepped through the door it was pitch black so she'd hit the light switch.  
"Surprise!" She jumped back in...well... surprise. There was a cacophony of singing monsters, none of them particularly good singers.  
There was Frisk holding Flowey at the forefront, of course, Sans and Alphys beside her, Undyne, Papyrus and Mettaton behind them.  
Napstablook was floating beside their cousin, Asgore with his enormous fuzzy arms around the entire group, Gerson on his arm and three elementals peeking their heads around the corner.  
"What...what is this?" Toriel was so confused, it wasn't anywhere close to her birthday.  
"Happy mother's day!" Frisk ran into her arms with only minimal complaining from the flower being squished.  
"It's a human day where families get together and celebrate moms! So _we_ baked _you_ a pie!" She could smell cinnamon now that she thought about it, and then she looked at all the grinning monsters, looking so proud of themselves as they should, and then she looked down at Frisk, so bright and kind and oh so wonderful, and she sniffled.  
"Oh dear...! Oh my child!" She cried and brought them into her arms.  
"Oh, you're all my children, aren't you?" She laughed and wiped at her tears and allowed the group to circle her and hug her, four clawed hands, two slightly damp, scaled. Six extra warm hands, two metallic ones, a ghostly touch, two very gentle giant hands, four... (six?) skeleton hands, and of course a very tiny pair of human ones, with a slight brushing of petals, at the front as they always were. Toriel tried her very best to not cry again but she just couldn't hold back, she was such a silly old lady!

**Author's Note:**

> Yikes, I don't even know what to write down here, this thing is my magnum opus and my last piece of the year? Of course it is. Enjoy asking questions and correcting everything.


End file.
